Beneath the Veil of Darkness
by Baby Blues
Summary: Three months after Buffy’s death . . . Angel’s bitterness and anger fogs his views as well as his hopes and dreams . . . until she returns. B/A, hinting of B/S in the middle.
1. Tears From Heaven

Title: Beneath the Veil of Darkness  
  
Chapter Title: Tears From Heaven  
  
Author: Baby Blues  
  
E-mail: purely_blissful@hotmail.com  
  
Rated: R  
  
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, but the story is.  
  
Summary: Three months after Buffy's death . . . Angel's bitterness and anger fogs his views as well as his hopes and dreams.   
  
Dedication: To Jay, for being my number one bad boy. *LOL*  
  
Excerpt:   
  
~Angel: I don't want to talk about it, Cordelia.  
  
~Cordelia: Well . . . you're gonna have to 'cause I'm not letting this go . . . Angel, the love of your life just died . . . but it doesn't mean you have to join her.   
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, and Fred walked towards Angel with hesitation, eyeing each other wearily as the vampire ignored them. They gazed at each other nervously and with question as to what they actually wanted to happen . . . what they wanted Angel to say.   
  
  
  
For months now, the vampire had been eerily quiet and distant. But not in the way he was remote when Darla started appearing in his dreams, but mysteriously distant. He continued fighting the fight with his head held high . . . but since Buffy's unexpected death . . . he had become emotionally cold. It was like his heart had died along with the Slayer that fateful day that Willow was found sitting on the couch, her face stained with tears.   
  
  
  
They could still remember the powerful cry of anguish he screamed as he fell to his knees and sobbed. No words had to come from Willow. It was just the feeling that had suddenly come rushing into him.   
  
  
  
The red head had gotten up and ran over to Angel, throwing her arms around him as they cried together. And the rest of them stood quietly in the background, shocked and confused . . . but from the heartache the pair was sharing, it was obvious that it had to do something with Buffy.  
  
  
  
After Willow explained everything and left, silence had permeated the hotel as they stared at each other uneasily. No one knew what to say. Angel had been so happy to be home . . .   
  
  
  
And then this happened.   
  
  
  
He rarely talked to them anymore, and when he did, it was usually a one word thing. They were lucky to hear two words . . . sometimes three or maybe even four.   
  
  
  
The Bat Pack had let him brood for the first few days, knowing that he needed some time to absorb what had happened. But when Angel refused to attend Buffy's funeral . . . they were not only shocked, but worried about his well being.   
  
  
  
They had been trying to work up the courage to finally talk to him, discussing what they should say or shouldn't say. And this was it . . .   
  
  
  
Lightning struck outside, and thunder rolled in the skies . . . causing a small vibration on the ground.   
  
  
  
They gulped nervously as they advanced towards their boss.   
  
  
  
"What?" Angel practically growled, not taking his eyes away from the book he was reading on his lazy-boy chair in the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel.   
  
  
  
The group stared at Cordelia. She shook her head, her eyes wide. She was not going to be the leader of their group. No way.   
  
  
  
The others urged her on and non-too-gently pushed her forward, clearing their throats, looking else where, and scratching the backs of their necks.   
  
  
  
Cordelia glared at them and turned to Angel, forcing a smile on her face. "How are you?"   
  
  
  
"Fine," Angel answered tersely.  
  
  
  
"You sure?"   
  
  
  
"Yes."   
  
  
  
"Not much of a talker are ya?" she tried to laugh off.  
  
  
  
"Guess not," he replied, turning a page from his book.   
  
  
  
Cordelia got impatient and sighed. "Angel . . . "   
  
  
  
"I don't want to talk about it, Cordelia," he warned, his jaws clenching as he tried to keep his disorderly emotions in control.  
  
  
  
For months now, he had tried to keep everything in check, tried to deal with Buffy's death alone and in silence . . . because he knew that if he didn't, he would break down and his emotions and thoughts would run with him. He couldn't surrender . . . couldn't die along with her, to finally be with her devoid of the burdens of losing his soul and the natural order of Slayer killing Vampire. And through these thoughts of admittion of defeat, he knew he had to be stronger than that. For Buffy, for the security of the world. He had to be strong.   
  
  
  
"Well . . . you're gonna have to 'cause I'm not letting this go," Cordelia said worriedly and with much more confidence this time, "Angel . . . the love of your life just died . . . but it doesn't mean you have to join her."  
  
  
  
Angel slammed his book shut and threw it on the ground, causing the group to jump in surprise.   
  
  
  
Why couldn't they just let it go? He was dealing. He was trying. Why couldn't they just stay out of it?  
  
  
  
"I'm still here aren't I?" he growled dangerously, gazing at them angrily.  
  
  
  
Cordelia sighed, "You're existing . . . but you're not living."   
  
  
  
He chuckled dryly. "How would you know anyways?" he asked and got up from his seat and began walking up towards the stairs. "Oh, yeah! I remember . . . you know all, right?"   
  
  
  
Cordelia gaped at him in silence.  
  
  
  
"Know?" the brunette asked, shocked and entirely insulted, "I can't believe you, of all people, would say that. 'Cause I certainly remember someone I lost and really cared about." Tears brimmed her eyes as she stared at his back in pain, "I remember him dying . . . I remember having to kiss him goodbye," she said, chocking on her words as the grief consumed her heart and soul, "His name was Doyle. You do remember Doyle, don't you?" she mocked.   
  
  
  
Angel stopped in his tracks. "I remember him," he said lowly and turned to look at her with blood shot eyes, "But it's not the same."   
  
  
  
Cordelia chuckled. "What's not the same?!" she asked him, "I loved a man and he died . . . you loved a woman and she died!"  
  
  
  
Angel shook his head in denial. He knew, deep down that she was right. He just didn't want to hear it. That was long ago. This was now. It wasn't the greatest excuse for his behavior, but it would do for now. "I don't have time for this."   
  
  
  
"Fine!" she yelled after him, "Go brood in the dark! Run away from this and continue pretending she's not dead!"   
  
  
  
He jerked towards her, his eyes glowing dangerously. "She *is* dead, Cordelia!" he yelled at her, "I know that!"   
  
  
  
"Then what's bothering you so much?!" she shouted back.  
  
  
  
"That I wasn't there when it happened!" he yelled at her in sorrow and fury, "That I wasn't there to hear her last words! That I wasn't there to hold her and tell her how much I loved her!" he cried, holding back his tears of pain and loss, "You had your last words with Doyle . . . I didn't even get to see Buffy . . . "  
  
  
  
Cordelia was crying, and for once in her life, she was speechless.   
  
  
  
"While I was off in another dimension, enjoying seeing my reflection in the mirror and being underneath the light of *two* suns, she was here!" Angel said fiercely through clenched teeth. "Fighting for her life . . . fighting for the world and her sister," he whispered, "And I wasn't even there to help her . . . "  
  
  
  
"Angel . . . "  
  
  
  
The vampire held up a hand. "Don't," he advised.  
  
  
  
"But Angel . . . " Wesley began.   
  
  
  
"I mean it, Wes," he said and turned to walk back up the stairs.  
  
  
  
It was over. Buffy was dead and his heart was broken.   
  
  
  
The one person in this entire world and in his entire lifetimes who had finally taught him and gave him love . . . trust . . . and happiness. She was his life, yet he was so foolish to not see it. Blinded by the thought that she would always be there if he came back . . . and he had left her.   
  
  
  
Angel always knew that death was something Buffy couldn't possibly run away from, but he had always pictured her old and withered when she did. With her hair white and gray . . . her face wrinkled, her eyes full of wisdom and love. And he had always believed that he would be there when she took her last breath, sitting by her bed, kissing her hand and knowing that she had died happy.   
  
  
  
But that wasn't possible . . . because she had died young . . . and he had not been there by her side. He never got to hold her . . . never got to know if she had no regrets. Never knew if she died with her still loving him.   
  
  
  
And not knowing hurt more than he could possibly say.   
  
  
  
But before he could take another step, Cordelia cried and fell to her knees . . . clutching at her head as an intense wave of pain exploded in her head.   
  
  
  
The group stared at her expectantly.   
  
  
  
"What did you see?" Wesley asked.   
  
  
  
"Ligpit demon," she gasped, "At an alley close to the shopping center." She closed her eyes tightly, "We're gonna need everybody on this one . . . he's strong and looking for a mate."   
  
  
  
"Let's go," Angel said, his mask back on as he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door, stepping out into the pouring rain.   
  
  
  
A demon to kill. It will take his mind off of other things.   
  
  
  
The others stared after him, helping Cordelia back on her feet before heading out the door and following the vampire.   
  
  
  
The sight of him, in his black jacket with rain pouring down on him, was a sad one. And their hearts broke for the en-souled vampire who had just lost the woman he loved more than anything else. Nothing they could say or do would be able to ease the vampire's heart. For the loss of a soul mate, the other half that completed you, was worse than the end of the world . . . because without that significant other, life was too incomplete to go on. And Angel was obviously trying to fight that urge to just finish it . . . no matter how much he wanted the pain of loss of Buffy Summer to end.   
  
  
  
Gunn shook his head sadly and turned off the lights of the hotel before closing the door behind him.  
  
  
  
Lightning crackled outside the quiet and lonely building. The shadows playing across the walls and floors of the hotel as the storm continued to rage on outside. A sudden burst of blinding white light spread through the lobby, surrounding each corner with an ethereal luminosity that consumed the entire hotel.   
  
  
  
It slowly faded into darkness once more, and all was left was a naked form lying in the middle of the cold hotel floor.   
  
  
  
It was shivering uncontrollably . . . tears streaming down her smooth and tanned cheeks. She was confused, and the sudden soreness her body was feeling was both numbing and excruciatingly painful.   
  
  
  
But her trembling didn't end, nor did it show any sign of stopping. She didn't understand any of this. She didn't know where she was, how she came to be there, or why she was even there.   
  
  
  
She gazed up at the ceiling, shaky and more than a little bewildered. But one thing was clear in her mind as one name escaped from her quivering lips, "Angel . . . "   
  
  
  
  
  
Continued . . . 


	2. Theories of the Mind

Title: Beneath the Veil of Darkness  
  
Chapter Title: Theories of the Mind  
  
Author: Baby Blues  
  
E-mail: purely_blissful@hotmail.com  
  
Rated: R  
  
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, but the story is.  
  
Summary: Angel takes care of Buffy and the LA Team make their own theories and conclusions of the miracle that brought Buffy Summers back.   
  
Dedication: To Spike . . . just 'cause.   
  
Excerpt:   
  
~Cordelia: I knew something big was gonna happen . . . Buffy and Angel have defied death a bunch of times . . . They just can't stay dead.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
"That was some work out," Cordelia commented as they drove back to the hotel after the ordeal in the alley.   
  
  
  
"Oh, yeah," Gunn rolled his eyes, "And the whole mating thing was a great bonus too."   
  
  
  
"I knew it," she teased with a sigh. "Anything that has to do with sex, men of all species go crazy. Even mating between demons can be a turn on."   
  
  
  
"Not always," Gunn said truthfully. "I mean, that thing we just witnessed was just gross. Too slimy and just . . . well . . . weird and totally freaksome. Porno is way better than watching demons goin' at it like a bunch of rutting animals . . . which they're basically are."   
  
  
  
The two gazed at each other for a moment, and quickly looked away when Wesley raised a curious brow. He mentally shook his head. Why couldn't they just kiss and get it over with? For months now, he had to endure the constant ogling, the daydreaming, and of course the drooling.   
  
  
  
"Porno, huh?" Cordelia remarked quickly.   
  
  
  
"The real thing's better though," Gunn replied.   
  
  
  
The ex-Watcher rolled his eyed when they cleared their throats, trying hard not to look at each other again. He didn't understand what was wrong with them. Kids. If they liked each other so much, why continue denying themselves of the happiness they could have with the other. It was just to confusing. They should just go on a date, kiss, and get it over with.   
  
  
  
"I can't wait to get into the shower," Fred giggled in the passenger seat, "To get all this gunk off of me would be pretty nice."   
  
  
  
"I agree," Cordelia yawned.  
  
  
  
Angel listened to their conversation without much concern. He just wanted to get home, sleep, and hopefully dream of the times when Buffy was still alive . . . and when they were still together, happy and innocent . . . in love and believed in forever. They had been naive back then . . . completely oblivious with what fate had in stored for the two of them.   
  
  
  
But those times were long gone. Destiny's cruelty caused the both to grow up when it came to their relationship . . . and it forced Buffy to mature even faster, especially with Slaying was added to it.   
  
  
  
He closed his eyes and took a deep unneeded breath before opening them again. How he had survived three months knowing that Buffy was gone, he didn't quite understand. The pain inside him should've killed him the moment he saw Willow sitting on that couch with tears streaming down her cheeks. He should've died at that moment, but sadly, he didn't.   
  
  
  
He saw the hotel building and frowned slightly. Something seemed off. Something just didn't feel right.   
  
  
  
He parked the car by the sidewalk as the entire gang got out of the car, chattering away. Fred was the only one kept quite . . . which was no surprise at all, considering the fact that she was still a newbie within their family . . . a bit on the crazy and not-all-there side as well.   
  
  
  
As they bounded up the steps, an powerful feeling rushed roughly through Angel's body, singing loudly in his vein as a tingling sensation worked its way up to his heart, calling out to his soul.   
  
  
  
His frown deepened as they came nearer to the door . . .   
  
  
  
"Can we order some pizza?" Gunn asked out loud as Angel opened the door.  
  
  
  
"Chinese," Cordelia argued.   
  
  
  
"I'm actually up for anything right now," Wesley shrugged his indifference, "Starvation will do that to any person."   
  
  
  
Angel flicked the lights on, his eyes quickly landing on the form that squirmed on the floor in the middle of the lobby.   
  
  
  
"Good God," Wesley muttered as the vampire quickly ran down the steps.   
  
  
  
Angel's entire world came into a slow motion as he skidded across the floor towards the naked body. Good God. Buffy was here. He stared down at her form as bile rose up in his throat as his eyes widened at the sight of bruises and cuts all over her exposed flesh. Blots of blue, purple, green, and yellow . . . an artwork of hatred and carnality.  
  
  
  
Someone would pay for this.   
  
  
  
"Angel?" she asked in a weak whisper.   
  
  
  
"Shhh," was his only reply as he placed his jacket on her nude form and scooped her up in his arms before heading up the stairs without a second glance nor a word to his friends and colleagues.   
  
  
  
Buffy was in his arms, beaten and weak, but real . . . and breathing. The way she held onto him, her small and warm hands burning his icy cold flesh. She stared at his face with sleepy hazel eyes as she tried to grasp at wakefulness, and his heart cried out for her as she touched his cheek with such tenderness it felt as though he was being touched by the wind instead of her hand.   
  
  
  
The thought of how or why she returned didn't even cross his mind as he reached his room in a daze. All he knew was that Buffy was in his arms, and his soul felt complete once again.  
  
  
  
He gently placed her on his bed as he sat by her, caressing her face with the back of his hand. He grabbed a few blankets from his closet and placed it on top of her shivering form. She had to chock back a scream at the welts and bruises that covered her body. He didn't know how she got them, wasn't sure why either, all he knew was that someone would die for it.   
  
  
  
He took a deep unneeded breath. She was real, so real, and she was here. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and he slowly began to cry in relief as she gazed up at him with sleepy hazel eyes.   
  
  
  
"Angel," she said softly, her voice shaking from the effort of simply saying his name.   
  
  
  
"It's okay," he told her, tear dripping down from his eyes like a rainfall of grief. "I'm right here."  
  
  
  
She smiled slightly, her lips quivering. "I've missed you so much," she told him, her eyes welling up with unshed tears. "It feels like a lifetime since I last saw you."   
  
  
  
"I know," he said, closing his eyes as he brought up her hand towards his cheek, relishing her warm touch, and promising himself that he will never let her go ever again. "I know," he said.   
  
  
  
"Oh, God . . . Angel," she sobbed as she reached for him, wanting him to be near her, touching her.   
  
  
  
"Shhh," he soothed as his voice rumbled in a purring sort of tone. He slowly pulled the covers away, ignoring her nudity, before he slid into the bed, taking in Buffy his arms and kissing her sweaty crown. "It's alright . . . I'm right here," he whispered as she clutched him, "And I'm going to stay," he added.  
  
  
  
Buffy slept on, the only thought in her mind was the fact that the man she loved was in her arms . . . and staying that way.   
  
  
  
  
************  
  
  
  
  
"I knew something big was gonna happen," Cordelia nodded as the entire Bat Pack sat together in the kitchen, sipping their own cups of coffee. "Buffy and Angel have defied death a bunch of times," she insisted, looking at her friends she now considered her family, "They just can't stay dead."  
  
  
  
"That quite an enlightening thought, Cordelia," Wesley said as he flipped through a book about reincarnation and restoration. "A very sensitive way to put it as well," he said sarcastically.   
  
  
  
"Well it's true," she snorted and then looked at Gunn and Fred. "First of all, Angel died during 1700's and became a vampire. A death and a rebirth all in one," she tried to explain, "Then he received his soul, and voila, Angelus becomes Angel . . . another revival ordeal, right?"   
  
  
  
They just looked at her in silence.   
  
  
  
"Then, he looses his soul and then goes to hell . . . death," she said simply, "But then, in some weird 'First Evil' sort of way, he returns to earth. Not basically 'alive' in that sense, but there none the less."   
  
  
  
Wesley quirked an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
"And then there's Buffy," Cordelia chuckled. "Died for a minute after practically being drained by the Master, but was brought back to life by my ex-boyfriend who did CPR. That one minute death activated another Slayer that's how we have psycho Faith in our hands," she shook her head. "Then there's THIS whole fiasco," she snorted again, "I swear . . . it's just something about those two."  
  
  
  
"Thank you for that interesting . . . monologue," Wesley smiled.   
  
  
  
Cordelia glared at him. "Laugh it up, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of them died and came back . . . AGAIN, may I add," she said, "This shouldn't be a shock anymore so I don't know why we're sitting here doing nothing."   
  
  
  
"We are doing something, Cordy," Fred piped in as she indicated the open books that each of them had.   
  
  
  
The Seer had the heart to blush as she grabbed a book herself and began flipping through it. "So exactly what are we looking for?" she asked.   
  
  
  
"Spells, legends concerning reincarnation," Wesley answered, "Prophecies, if there are any concerning a Slayer and an en-souled vampire."   
  
  
  
"You think it's a prophecy?" Gunn asked.   
  
  
  
"It may be," Wesley answered, "But only The Powers That Be have the answer to that. We can only guess and try to find those answers."   
  
  
  
"They might need Buffy for something," Cordelia added, "Future fights and all that jazz."   
  
  
  
"That's a possibility," Wesley nodded.   
  
  
  
"What if it's just because of love?" Fred suggested.   
  
  
  
Everyone stared at her for a moment as she fidgeted nervously from the attention. "I mean . . . that could be one of the reasons," she tried to explain. "Just as simple as . . . love . . . "   
  
  
  
  
  
Continued . . . 


	3. Can't Be

Title: Beneath the Veil of Darkness  
  
Chapter Title: Can't Be  
  
Author: Baby Blues  
  
E-mail: purely_blissful@hotmail.com  
  
Rated: R  
  
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, but the story is.  
  
Summary: The LA Gang find out how and why Buffy is back. A round of guilt, disbelief, and utter sadness consumes Angel as well as the entire Bat Pack.   
  
Dedication: To . . . Joss, 'cause he sucks ass. Angel and Cordelia? I can't take it. Seriously. I can't even watch that show anymore!  
  
Excerpt:   
  
~Wesley: Angel? . . . Did you hear what I said? Buffy denied the will of heaven and battled them to return here . . . to you . . .   
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
Wesley yawned tiredly as he cautiously made his way up the stairs of the Hyperion Hotel. It was early the next morning, and everything was quiet and still. Everyone had retired late last night going through piles and piles of books, reading prophecies and legends. Everyone was probably sleeping in today, but Wesley wanted to make an early start with the research.   
  
  
  
He knocked softly on Angel's hotel room, knowing the en-souled vampire would be up by now. When he didn't hear a reply, he frowned and quietly opened the door, peering through the crack with curious and wide blue eyes.   
  
  
  
The ex-Watcher smiled faintly when he saw the picture before him. Peacefully sleeping on the bed were two forms, holding each other so lovingly as though the entire world didn't exist except for the two of them.   
  
  
  
With Buffy's small and petite body embraced tightly, but gently, within Angel's strong and protective arms, it looked as though they had never been apart. The look of contentment on their faces held a serene sense of comfort and wholeness. Just the way it was supposed to be.   
  
  
  
This was what it was supposed to be. This was what the two warriors deserved more than anything else in the world . . . and that was each other.   
  
  
  
But the sudden jolt of pain that crossed Buffy's face made Wesley frown.   
  
  
  
Angel noticed it as well and was jerked into wakefulness at the swift change of emotions within the young woman he held in his arms. He gazed at Buffy's sleeping form intently as worry shadowed his face.   
  
  
  
Her head shook as she began to struggle within Angel's embrace. Wesley opened the door wider as his eyes enlarged in shock. Buffy's lips began to tremble as tears began to slip from her closed eyes and down her soft cheeks.   
  
  
  
"No . . . don't. Just let me go," she cried desperately, causing more alarm to both men who watched her.   
  
  
  
Angel stared at Wesley with shock clearly written on his handsome face. "Get a glass of water. Hurry!" he demanded as he sat up and pushed a few strands of hair away from Buffy's face.   
  
  
  
"Sweetheart," he whispered lightly, controlling his own emotions for the sake of the love of his life, "Wake up. Its only a dream."   
  
  
  
"No!" she exclaimed, shaking her head more urgently as she tried to fight Angel off of her body. "Please! Don't! NOoooo!" she screamed, struggling with Angel's hold on her. "Good, God! Just let me go!" she begged, tears continuing to trek down her cheeks in unending streams.  
  
  
  
Angel could only watch helplessly as he whispered comforting things to her. He didn't know what to think . . . what to believe. Something had happened to her wherever she was.   
  
  
  
"NO!!" With that, she sat up in bed, her eyes wide, her blond hair in disarray, and her breathing heavy and labored as she stared wildly around the room, expecting danger to come jumping at her.   
  
  
  
Angel quickly hugged her to him, embracing her frail and beaten body against his as she began to cry against the nape of his shoulder, her petite form shaking as she sobbed out her pain and sadness.   
  
  
  
The vampire frowned, worry etching his face as he gently caressed her back and rocked her back and forth into comfort and quietness.  
  
  
  
Wesley returned, holding a glass of water and a plate of toasts with an assortment of jam. "I thought she could be a bit hungry as well," he said sheepishly in a whisper. "I would've made something more grand but . . . I was short on time," he explained.   
  
  
  
Angel only nodded and motioned towards the bedside table. The ex-Watcher tip-toed past the couple and placed it on the wood top before silently leaving the room to give the pair some 'alone' time. Which they obviously needed.   
  
  
  
"Buffy, it's all right," Angel said softly in her ear, "I'm right here."   
  
  
  
"A-A-Angel," she stuttered, "Oh, God . . . Angel."   
  
  
  
He closed his eyes, tears gathering in them at the pitiful tone within the voice of his love. Something had broken her . . . Wherever she was before . . . before she appeared in the middle of the floor of the Hyperion Hotel, wherever that place was . . . it did something to her. And he was going to make sure he finds those who are guilty for what they had done to her both physically and emotionally, and make sure that they pay for the pain they had caused her.   
  
  
  
  
************  
  
  
  
  
It was hours later, by mid-afternoon, did Angel come bounding down the steps of the hotel and towards the offices, his face expressionless except for a hint of brooding in them.   
  
  
  
Everyone of the Bat Pack looked up at him in question, all wanting to know the update on the progress with Buffy.   
  
  
  
"She stable," he announced to everyone, who unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, "She's sleeping . . . and she ate a little," he said before throwing Wesley a gracious glance. "Did you guys find anything?"  
  
  
  
Wesley stepped forward and nodded, his face a bit shocked and worried. "You won't like what you hear," he told the vampire softly, hesitantly.   
  
  
  
Angel clenched his jaws in dismay and anger as he looked around at his friends who quickly looked away to stare at something else, not wanting to meet his eyes. Whatever they found, it wasn't good . . . and it surely wasn't going to make him happy either.   
  
  
  
But he had already concluded that when he had a closer look at Buffy's body when he was giving her a nice warm bath. Every cut and every bruise looked as though she had been a fight . . . a fight for her life . . . or something else.   
  
  
  
"Do you want to hear it?" Wesley asked, "Or do you just want to read it," he said, handing the book over to him.   
  
  
  
Angel shook his head and walked over to one of the chairs. He sat down and gazed up at Wesley in silence, waiting for the older looking man to begin.   
  
  
  
"Well . . . " he began, afraid of the upcoming reaction they would all soon witness when he began to explain what had possibly happened to the Slayer, "Buffy was in the aether . . . or heaven."   
  
  
  
Angel frowned but still said nothing.   
  
  
  
"It says here that it had never been possible for heaven bound souls to return to earth . . . "   
  
  
  
"How about me? I was able to come back. Two times," Angel stated, his face still a mask of nothing.   
  
  
  
"But you had a body to return to . . . still 'working' and still . . . well . . . presentable," Wesley explained with a small shrug, "But Buffy didn't. Hers was already rotting in her grave."   
  
  
  
Angels hot him a dirty look, not wanting to hear Buffy's body being described in a carnal and disturbing way like that no matter how true it may be. He was close to snapping, and the ex-Watcher's clarification of his research wasn't giving him the answers he needed or truly wanted to hear.   
  
  
  
Wesley gulped a took a few small steps away from the vampire.  
  
  
  
"Then what are you saying?" the vampire asked, "That it's not possible for Buffy to have . . . come back?"   
  
  
  
He shook his head in reply. "Oh . . . it definitely possible."  
  
  
  
Angel's frown deepened.  
  
  
  
"She denied the rules the aether proclaimed to return . . . "  
  
  
  
"Which means?" Angel urged, getting sick and tired of Wesley's melodrama, his babbling, and his friends silence.   
  
  
  
"She denied the will of heaven and battled them to return here," Wesley finally explained, "The wounds you see on her body . . . she fought off the-the Guardians that blocked the surroundings of the kingdom. They made sure that not one soul was able to leave."  
  
  
  
Angel stared at him in shock.   
  
  
  
"I have an inkling suspicion that she destroyed most of them," Wesley continue don, "Considering the fact that a lot of eerie things have been happening lately."   
  
  
  
"Much more eerie things," Cordelia piped in for the first time since he came down the steps. She walked towards him and handed him a stack of papers. "A four year old from Florida has been having recollections about a man by the name of Billy Thompson Carter who died in Colorado in a skiing accident in Vail. The boy said that he was 38 when Billy died. The visions started last night. I checked it out," Cordelia said handing him another stack of papers, "Billy Thompson Carter died last year at the age of 38 in Vail from a skiing accident . . . There's more of those accounts."   
  
  
  
"A few families all over the world has also reported that one of their family members who had died returned last night too," Gunn added his own two cents in, "A couple by the name of John and Nancy received a news that Nancy was pregnant . . . when she just lost a baby in a miscarriage two years before. The doctors said she wasn't able to become pregnant again after that. The kid's four months pregnant, the same amount of months old her baby had been before she lost it."  
  
  
  
Wesley took the papers from the vampire and gave it to Cordelia to file. "We believe that since most of the Guardians have been destroyed, other souls were able to return . . . most of them succeeded . . . others didn't," Wesley explained. "There aren't any more news about such things happening since last night . . . so I think that the Guardians have been replaced once more."  
  
  
  
The vampire still said nothing.   
  
  
  
"Angel?" Wesley asked, beginning to worry, "Did you hear what I said? Buffy denied the will of heaven and battled them to return here . . . to you . . . "  
  
  
  
He began shaking his head in denial. "No," he said, his voice hoarse from the news, "That's impossible. The soul . . . the soul . . . "  
  
  
  
"Was basically tortured," Wesley finished for him.   
  
  
  
"B-but Buffy," he stuttered, gazing up at the stairs with grief in his eyes. The things she must have gone through . . . and just because of him. She had surrendered her peace to return to an uncaring world . . . and to a man, no! A monster who couldn't possibly give her anything in return.   
  
  
  
"The soul . . . HER soul was strong enough to defeat the Guardians . . . the SOLDIERS who made sure that no evil could slink its way within the aether, and she took them down!" Wesley told him.  
  
  
  
Angel continued to shake his head . . . because if it wasn't true, then he wouldn't have to believe that Buffy suffered all that hurt to return to earth.   
  
  
  
"Angel! Look at her!" Wesley shouted at the vampire in denial, "She's broken and beaten and . . . "  
  
  
  
He couldn't listen to anymore. He got up from his chair and brushed past Wesley and the others to climb up the stairs.   
  
  
  
He needed to be with Buffy, to hug her for her foolishness and kiss her for coming back to her. And that was when he stopped on his tracks as he gazed at the closed door of his room. Of course it mattered that Buffy defied heaven to be with him. But it has already been done and there was no way he was EVER going to return her there when she had just come back.   
  
  
  
It was now or never.   
  
  
  
No matter what had happened or no matter how she got here, it no longer mattered. They could only make up for it. She had returned to him . . . and they were given a second chance. And this time, he was going to take full advantage of that.   
  
  
  
  
  
Continued . . .   
  
  
  
  
  
(Check out my site for further updates!) 


End file.
